Kuroi Chi no Yume 8

Wow, I couldn't believe the response the last chapter generated! Thank you so much to all of you who commented! Because of you guys I really pushed to get this next chapter done when I did:) To musicsoundsmysoul 14, wanderwithme4now, Hippy Hobbit and NekoKid: Thank you for your review about my fight scene! I didn't think anyone would actually enjoy it that much! ^.^ To Liliath: Thank you for your honesty:) And I totally do that in manga too; it takes me and ungodly amount of time to read a fight section! Okay, here it is:

^^^^^^^^CHAPTER 8^^^^^^^^

"Resonance of Souls!" Maka and Soul shouted as one. Soul could feel the familiar sensation of their souls aligning, sparking for a moment before falling into perfect rhythm. It was a melody that could be felt rather than heard. He grinned as the rush of power swept through him and then passed onto Maka, only to be reverberated back to him, twice as powerful. It was an incredible feeling to have that much raw power coursing through your body. Their resonance rose in frequency like an echoing chord from a piano string and he could feel the shape of his scythe changing with this surge of power, forming the enormous radiating shape of the Witch Hunter. He could feel his body singing with the sound of their souls now, ready to release this newfound power and devastate their opponent. It rushed through his blood like electricity; in every nerve, every muscle. He could feel Maka raising him above her head and-

He blinked in surprise, looking around.

"Wha-?" He was in the small room with the checkered floor from his dreams.

But I'm not sleeping… Soul thought, frowning in worry. What did this mean for the fight then? Did this mean he was unconscious? He stood up, wearing his usual attire that seemed to go along with this dream/nightmare. The grainy sound of a record playing jazz music was the only noise pervading through the disturbing silence.

"Oi!" He called out, frowning and looking around. Where was the little demon that normally taunted him in this world? Not that he was complaining; mind you, just cautious about this sudden turn of events.

"Hey!" He called out louder this time, cupping his hands around his mouth.

Still nothing.

Soul's frown deepened as he scanned the room, finding nothing of interest. That left only the double doors at the end of the room. The young weapon felt his stomach clench at the thought. Going through those doors never ended well in his dreams and there was always the possibility that this wasn't really a dream considering he didn't remember falling asleep. And there were the events of his last dream to consider as well. He shuddered, doubting he'd ever be able to get the image of himself standing over Maka with his scythe arm raised…

"Hey!" He called out one last time, not really expecting an answer. A sudden creaking noise nearly made him jump and he whirled towards the source to find one of the double doors now opened slightly. He could hear some sort of voices coming from outside that door, but couldn't discern who they belonged to or what they were saying. He inched closer to the open door, nerves wound tighter than an overtuned piano string. One of the voices was laughing, a deep chuckling laugh that was quickly turning into an insane squealing laugh. The other was…

"Soul? What are you doing? I can't…" His eyes flew open.

"Maka!" He rushed for the door and stopped at the threshold. All the other times… Soul clenched his fist, undecided. Right now his partner was fighting that powerful Kishin alone…he had to get out of this nightmare and help her…but what if he ended up killing her instead?

"Soul…! Damnit…Stein warned me…please don't lose control to the black blood Soul…stop…" His partner gasped weakly. That decided it. Soul leaped through the door, searching desperately for his meister.

"MAKA!"

"Awww Soul," The laughing of the demon ended abruptly with his disappointed whine, "you're ruining my fun…"

Soul felt his normal scythe form fall to the ground with a clatter.

What? He turned back to his human form, still searching for Maka. She had collapsed to her knees, breathing heavily and unevenly.

"Hey…you okay?" He asked worriedly as he searched around for the second Kishin. He followed the still-smoking groove in the ground that he guessed had been caused by the Witch Hunt to a giant hole in the side of a brick building, the dust still settling. Soul turned his attention back to his partner who was still shaking like a leaf.

"Maka?"

"I-I'm sorry S-S-Soul…" She finally got out, "I sh-should have said some…something to y-you…b-but-"

"What are you talking about?" He asked, trying to keep the worry out of his voice, because that would be totally uncool. Although at this point, he was pretty sure anyone's coolness would have taken a bit of a blow by now.

"What Stein…said a-about the b-black blood. He warned m-me that we shouldn't t-try a Soul Re-resonance…because y-you might de-devour my soul but I didn't…" Soul could actually feel the blood draining from his face.

Devour her soul? The horrible nightmares played through his mind; the notion that they could become reality put him in a near-frenzy.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He demanded, suddenly aware of how angry he probably appeared, yelling at his partner and shaking her shoulders.

"I'm sorry…" Maka murmured, not meeting his gaze. Soul let go of her to run a hand through his hair in frustration.

"You should have told me! If I knew I wouldn't have…"

Well that explains her hesitation at using the Witch Hunt I guess…

"And we never would have beaten this Kishin!" Maka finished for him, now turning her emerald gaze on him, fiercely.

"I almost ate your soul!" He yelled, desperate to make her see his point. She looked taken aback for a moment, but recovered quickly.

"So did that thing!" She hollered right back, pointing vehemently at the smoking crater in the wall. Soul could feel his frustration growing. How was he supposed to explain the horror of nearly killing her? - Twice now!

"But I'm your partner; I'm not supposed to want to eat your soul!" Maka blinked.

"You want to?"

"What? No! I-" A roar of fury cut off Soul's reply as the enraged Kishin landed right next to them. The force of it's landing, shattering the pavement and sent the two Shibusen students flying from the shockwave.

"It's not dead?" Maka gasped in disbelief. The entire right arm and shoulder of the beast had been blown off by the force of the Witch Hunt, burning that side of its body and face, but sure enough, it was still alive.

"Damn!" Soul growled, leaping away from the enraged Kishin's blow. The deadly claws slid past his nose, nearly splitting his face in half. With a howling shriek the beast kept advancing, an all-out run towards him, determined to slash, bite or just bowl him over.

Shit…! He couldn't move back fast enough and ended up tripping over his own feet, falling backwards and scraping his palms on the rough ground. That was the least of his worries however, as the furious monster advanced on him.

"Scythe!" Maka screamed at him. Trusting her, he changed his body and was surprised to be caught by the hands of his technician who braced against the impact of the Kishin's blow.

Damn Maka is fast; where did she come from? He glanced to his partner through the reflection of the blade and could see her, on her knees holding off the Kishin's attack with trembling arms and gritted teeth.

And kneeling in a pool of blood. With a start, Soul realized she must have slid between the Kishin's legs on her knees, shredding the thin fabric of her pyjamas and the skin underneath, in order to get to him in time.

"Maka…" With a burst of strength the meister somehow managed to throw the monster off balance long enough to climb shakily to her feet. They were at the end of their rope. Their hidden ace: the Witch Hunt, had failed them and Soul could feel his partner trembling, tensing every muscle and tendon in her body just to stay upright. Their opponent was completely enraged, no longer caring about any personal harm as long as it could end the lives of the two Shibusen students in front of it.

This might be the most one-sided fight we've faced since Italy…we really might not walk away from this… Soul realized with a gulp. This time was different from back then however, in that there was actually time to let the dread truly settle in his heart. We might actually die…

…And I leave another cliff-hanger! After a short chapter too. Bad writer! Bad! Don't worry, however, all of your encouraging comments and reviews are feeding my passion for this story so chapter nine should be out before too long:)